By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
Despite not qualifying for the playoffs, EA7 Emporio Armani Milano left a good mark in its last EuroLeague Regular Season game in front of its crowd, beating FC Barcelona 84-76.
Shabazz Napier was Olimpia Milano‘s highest scorer with 18, while Billy Baron followed with 12. Team captain Nicolò Melli ended the game with 11 points and 6 rebounds. Kyle Hines shot 5/7 from the field, ending with a PIR of 16.
Home crowd favorite Giampaolo Ricci had a good effort on both sides of the court in the fourth. Brandon Davies, who played with FC Barcelona until the summer of 2022, entered the court with 3:58 minutes left in the third and scored 8.
On the guests’ side, Kyle Kuric, who is featured in the latest EuroLeague Table Talk, led the way with 17 points, scoring 4/5 from beyond the arc. Nicolas Laprovittola and Mike Tobey had 12 points each, while the 2021-22 EuroLeague MVP Nikola Mirotic ended the game with 11 and 5 rebounds.
For the home fans
Milan wanted to make their fans happy after a bad EuroLeague season plagued by injuries, as coach Ettore Messina admitted: “It was a very important night, especially for our fans. We feel bad for them, even if we know why we could not have a better season. I think it’s been a very good game; everybody helped, everybody competed. We had moments of very good defense and very good offense. I think this can help us gain confidence before heading to the Italian League playoffs. When you play against Barcelona, you need to play a good game and hope they play a little below their level. That happened tonight, but the line is thin. The good thing is that we left the competition at home with good taste.”
For the last home game of the EuroLeague Regular Season, Ettore Messina didn’t have Paul Biligha, and he decided to sideline Naz Mitrou-Long, Stefano Tonut, Davide Alviti, and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot. Sarunas Jasikevicius, instead, didn’t have Nikola Kalinic, Sergi Martinez, and James Nnaji.
“They were the better team”
“I thought they were the better team, it was a difficult evening for us. I thought we created some shots, the guys tried to fight in some situations. We lacked the necessary tension to win here in Milan. I’m very proud that Zalgiris is fighting for the playoffs”, Sarunas Jasikevicius said following the loss.
After leading 21-18 following the first ten minutes, FC Barcelona lost control of the game. Saras’ team struggled both from two (13/35) and from beyond the arc (11/31), while Milano was 11/23 from deep.
In Round 34, the last one of the Regular Season, Olimpia Milano (15-18) will travel to Bologna for the Italian derby on April 13 at 20:45 CET against Virtus with both teams out of the playoffs. FC Barcelona (22-11) will get back to Spain to face Valencia on the following day at 20:30 CET. If Barcelona wins and Real Madrid loses, then Barcelona can finish second in the final standings.
PHOTO CREDIT: EA7 Emporio Armani Milano